Breast Pumping

patriciahomol · January 2012

So I've decided that I'm going to be pumping only. Is that weird? Because when I told my mom she like freaked out and said if I wasn't breastfeeding the "real" way then why do it at all?

I just don't feel comfortable breastfeeding the normal way so i planned on pumping and just bottle feeding with breast milk.

Is this weird? My mother seems to think so....opinions?

ashleybritton · January 2012

To each their own. Only you know what feels right for you. I say if that's what you're comfortable with then more power to you!

Discordia1030 · January 2012

Not weird and major props to you! Its going to be a huge undertaking but if you're prepared, you can do it!

lattie · January 2012

My son was born without the ability to suck or swallow. He was really early and was just not able to do all those natural reflex things. Anyway, so I pumped exclusively and then had to jump thru three hoops to feed him. Once he finally learned how to suck, he would only drink from the bottle and would not latch on. Anyway, I pumped for 2 months exclusively.

My thoughts..it is easier and it is harder, just depends on what day it is.

Its frustrating when you need to find a place to pump if you are out in the middle of the day.. its harder to find a place to set up all the equipment...than it is to find a spot to BF. I ended up keeping a small manual pump in my diaper bag and an empty bottle in a sterilized bag..just incase.

We once had a terrible storm and lost power, so I had to manually pump for a day. That was not fun at all.

Washing bottles all the time instead of just BFing was a pain..although, my hubs pretty much washed and boiled all the stuff for me, I just had to keep filling them up

Its very time consuming. You pump. You feed, you clean you start all over.

And you have to have your timing right in the beginning. It takes a few days for your milk to come in well...so you have to pump before they are hungry or you have a crying baby while you pump and then feed. Once your supply is established and you get a few bottles ahead..this issue is a thing of the past.

But some good points..

If I was napping, and pumped before Iaid down, the hubs/mom or whoever was around could feed the baby while I rested. That was huge for me. Our son pretty much never slept at night and my husband worked nights, so if I could get some shut eye during the day...I had to. So it worked out.

The transition to formula was way easier. Nobody is tugging at your shirt, stuff like that

You know for sure how much they are eating (my son was a preemie with issues so this was actually helpful) we had to know ounces in and output for a while..so we really knew, instead of he nursed for x minutes.

A bit of advise.. I would rent a hospital pump and stock up on the stuff that makes you smell like syrup. When I pumped with just my Pump In Style, I could express ok, but I never emptied out all the way well and I got a few irritated glands from that issue. However, a few weeks in, we rented a hospital pump..it did a far better job at emptying me out.

Stock up on milk freezer bags, you need more than you think. Also on sharpies..they disappear like socks at my house.

I also found it very useful to get a little bin..kind of like what you would use to organize a drawer or shelf..and put that in the freezer. That kept my milk supply organized in my freezer so I could FIFO it and it didn't go every where every time you move something in the freezer.

Good luck!

patriciahomol · January 2012

thanks so much to everyone

especially lattie! thats such good advice. i just hope i can handle it!

reyhan29mansur · January 2012

I never even thought of doing this... very interesting! I've been so worried that baby won't latch on, and I wouldn't be able to BF, but I didn't even think of this option! Thanks so much for posting, it makes me feel a lot better

LottaLattes · January 2012

So I will say, props to you for wanting to give your baby breastmilk, even when you aren't totally comfortable with breastfeeding. Having done both, I found it miles easier to regular breastfeed (exclusively pumped for my first for 10 long months). You have to keep a regular schedule, I started out having to pump every two hours to establish my supply, plus feed the baby, and it was a lot harder to maintain my supply in general (lots of oatmeal and fenugreek). It wad nice that other people could feed the baby but it was also two extra steps all night (warming a bottle and feeding on top of pumping). And some people have a really hard time expressing milk. I don't mean this at ALL to dissuade you, just thinking through problems you could encounter so you can plan to deal with them while not sleep deprived

With that said, given the choice of pumping or formula, I would pump again in a heartbeat. You might also look into something like nipple shields. A friend of mine was really creeped out by BF, but she felt less weird with a barrier layer there for whatever reason.

Good luck! I definitely felt great giving my son BM, even if he wouldn't latch very well!

CAM718 · January 2012

Nope not weird, do whatever you are comfortable with! Your baby will get the benefits of breast milk weather it comes from a bottle or straight from the boob. And FYI "the stuff that makes you smell like syrup" mentioned above is called fenugreek, my pedi recommended it to me too when I had supply issues while pumping at work. It helps boost your supply a bit, and does make you smell like pancakes!

Daisy22 · January 2012

Not weird. I have several friends that exclusively pump from the beginning. I start pumping early on so that dh can do one night feeding and to get a freezer stash. With ds2 I ended up umping exclusively after 11 wks bc he was way to distracted with big brother around to nurse. It was easier to pump and give him a bottle.

I also recommend getting a car charger or battery pack for your pump. I pumped in the car quite a few times. I also had a hand pump for just in case events.

cchill01 · January 2012

It's not weird, or crazy, but it's a hell of a lot of work. It means waking up in the middle of the night to pump and also to feed the baby, instead of just shoving a boob in LOs mouth and wondering back to bed. It means doing a TON of dishes and storing lots of milk. It means packing bottles and a cooler everwhere you go. Then if your LO won't drink cold milk, you have to heat up the bottle.

There are lots of EPers (exclusive pumpers) out there, I just don't know how they do it. I don't think many of them make it to a year. I despised pumping and would never consider this an option unless there was a medical reason LO couldn't nurse.

Sorry, just being honest.

EMOmamma · January 2012

Like the other posters said EPing is a PITA. My son was in the NICU and I couldn't hold him so I started pumping, and pumping, and pumping. Once he was well enough we tried to BF but it wouldn't happen. I pumped for 6 months before I stopped. Pumping just takes so much time. I've already decided that I won't do it again, if this baby can't BF for some reason we will go to formula. (I will pump when I go back to work, just not exclusively at home)

Good luck with whatever you decide!

claudiaudia · January 2012

I don't know if I'd say it's weird, but it's your body and your choice, so do what makes YOU feel most comfortable! It's not going to be anyone else that's feeding this baby or producing the goods, so it's really not their concern.

I had read somewhere when I was pregnant with my son (which feels like a million years ago) that there's a possibility that your milk supply can dry up prematurely when exclusively pumping. I believe the article said that there's a different stimulation with actual nursing that keeps milk supply up with a baby vs. a pump.

Now, there's a good possibility that those findings are now defunct as I cannot find where I originally found that.

cchill01 · January 2012

claudiaudia:

I had read somewhere when I was pregnant with my son (which feels like a million years ago) that there's a possibility that your milk supply can dry up prematurely when exclusively pumping. I believe the article said that there's a different stimulation with actual nursing that keeps milk supply up with a baby vs. a pump.

I definitely agree with this too. I was a HORRIBLE pumper. I would massage and carress, think about white rivers and try desparately to relax. I could never get the same kind of let down with the pump, that I could when DD was nursing. There were lots of pumping sessions where I struggled to pump 1-2 ounces, so I would have to pump twice for every bottle DD needed.

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